Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-05-02
GLADSTONE VISITS THE WILD WEST
SHOW.
his opinion OF America.

last Thursday. A number of promi-
nent guests were present, among them
( Consul Waller, the Marquis of LOrne,
and Col. Hughes Hollett Gladstone
was presented TO Red-Shirt and had
brief interview with him through an
+ interpreter. After this Buffalo Bills
troupe gave a brilliant exhibition of
/ horscmanship which elected the widest
applause from the guests. At lunch
given by Mr.. Cody to his guests, MIR.
Gladstone spoke. He said it was i'm
possible for him not to express very
great interest in the spectacle that had
that day been presented to him. The
visitors had done themselves no more
than justice ia saying that the institu-
tons of America and the progress of
America had always been IL him sub
ject of very great interest ever since,
many years ago, he had studied the life
of Washington. He had become aware
of two thihgs-first, of the magnitude
of the destiny reserved for the people
Of America; secondly, that the birth of
an American State was of more interest
than any other, it was possible to study.
Whenever any young man DESTROYS of
studying political life had consulted
him as to the course of study he should
pursue in the field of history, it had
been his invariable practice to refer him
to the early history of America. Now
the destinies OF the States were assum-
ing such great dimensions, and the
prospect of what was contained in their
future became an almost overwhelming
thought, but with progress came res
possibilities, and the stronger and
greater they became as n people the
more it would be incumbent upon them
to set to the world an example to be fol-
lowed. He could not, in justice to the
visitors, lay before them the impressions
of all he had seen that day. They had
surprised Englishmen in feats of horse
manship, although Englishmen believed
they had surpassed all other nations.
and he hoped their exhibition would stir
up British emulation and lead to the
further developments of what he might
call noble art. He understood that
the main purpose of the exhibition was
to bring American life before the Eng
lish people. II that were so he could
only say there was no purpose he valued
more He believed that the exhibition
was commercial speculation, and he
hoped that it would be good specula-
| ton; but it was more than that-there
was nothing more desirable on this side
of the water than a true and accurate
representation of the American world.
About sixty years ago there existed, as
he believed, a prejudice against Eng
land in America. and a prejudice in
England against America. He believed
those prejudices had disappeared. He
believed the very workmen engaged ON
that side reioiced in being employed in
a task the execution of which would
bring England and America more
closely together. God Almighty had
made Englishmen and Americans kins-
men, and they ought to have affections
for one another. and if they had not
humanity would cry shame upon them.
He rejoiced that the clouds that parted
them had almost disappeared from the
political sky, and that the future was as
bright and as promising as the warmest-
hearted amongst them could wish it to
be. Half century ago some admir-
able works on America had been pub
lished by. he regretted to say, not an
| English but French writer. Since
then England had learned but little of
America, which had during that time
developed to an extent almost incred-
ible, so that the America of to-day was
as different from the America of sixty
years ago as the America of to-day was
from prairie life. America had not
been idle since that time; she had gone
through one of the greatest struggles
known in the history of man. and he
believed that the result of that struggle
was what the mass of the people of
England wished it TO be. He believed
that If they had to go through with
another similar trial. though that was